By Thomas Willett
I am a sucker for Sacha Baron Cohen, plain and simple. I consider his work on Da Ali G Show to be a great mix of satire and commentary (plus it got Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg Emmy nominations). Even his subsequent films Borat and Bruno have the right balance of shock and humor. However, it isn’t necessarily the comedy that I like. I believe that it’s the faux realism that pushes him to levels of a winking-at-the-camera version of Andy Kaufman. This is why I feel like his latest film the Dictator is doomed.
I was not a fan of Borat before the movie premiered. It was eventually the hype that lead me to notice the appeal. First it was the countless lawsuits of individuals who claimed to be mistreated or injured. Then it was the notorious wrestling scene that I felt started a trend of male nudity in comedies for the next four years. Eventually it lead to what made me respect him: an appearance on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
I was aware that he did interviews in character, but this was my first exposure. He was on the show with Martha Stewart and somehow it ended with Borat being tucked into a bed. Having watched a lot of late night talk shows, I knew this was special. He actually roamed around in the audience during commercials and while his shtick is a little repetitive, it was more of the idea that he was physically there. I loved the exclusivity of these characters, which is why I watch every possible interview that I can find.
I eventually bought Da Ali G Show complete series on DVD, which only justified my opinion more. This wasn’t just a character actor. He was doing some slick cultural commentary through a disguise. It was surreal and ground breaking for me at the time, and I admired the dedication. By the time Bruno came around, I was ready to indulge in the media, including a memorable visit to the short-lived classic the Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien. I even watched the live world premiere, in which glittery tanks and fashionista soldiers marched down the carpet. I knew that I was only months away from never seeing Cohen as Bruno ever again. All I would have is the movie and this moment.
This is why I am excited for the Dictator. I am not talking about the movie. I’m talking about the interviews with the character General Aladeen. This will tell me everything that I need to know about the film. He has been interviewed by the likes of Larry King and Jon Stewart. He has even interrogated Martin Scorsese. Yet all of this has split me in half. I usually love these interviews, sometimes more than the movies, but I think there is something off about this character. He is as dedicated as usual, but I have a strong sense that this is more of a scripted rehash with an extremist viewpoint.
The majority of his personal characters differ in a lot of ways. However, like Ali G and Borat, Aladeen does feature some sexism and overstating third world issues. I have been following the Dictator’s Facebook page, and it has all of the expected beats. He praises dictators and spits on people he disagrees with. I believe that he has the vibe of a dictator down, but unlike his other characters, Cohen has given this character no empathy, a small key to his previous successes.
The moment that most brings this to life is in the trailer in which Cohen is talking to Jason Mantzoukas in a foreign language while implying to an unbeknownst couple that they are going to blow up the Empire State Building. I know that Cohen likes to challenge good tastes, but this feels like the darkest that he’s ever gone, or if anything the most likely to reinstate terrorist stereotypes about Muslims. I get the impression that he watched Four Lions and thought “I could do that,” though he not quite as subtle or low key.
As I have also stated, I think that Aladeen sounds too scripted. Where Bruno and Borat had a vague outline, it seems like every interview has to hit certain notes. I admire that he is able to play him differently, but I don’t find him nearly as interesting. Even the Ryan Seacrest stunt at the Oscars seemed a little lazy and obvious. This isn’t to say that I don’t think Cohen is good scripted. I have liked his work in Tim Burton’s Sweeney Todd and even named him one of my favorite characters as the Train Station Inspector from Hugo. He is terrific as minor characters in other people’s work because he feels restrained and forced to try something different. They may often be eccentric, but rarely similar.
However, when you give Cohen a script and the top bill, you get Ali G Indahouse. The movie has a few laughs, but it is very much standard shock humor. After seeing the range in Da Ali G Show, it feels sluggish to just place the Ali G character in a world where everyone gets bad dialogue and he gets the catch phrases. My fear is that the Dictator will be exactly this. Uninspired gags that attempt to go for meaning, but end up just grossing you out. In the red band trailer, they have a birth scene that ends in a very bizarre way. Not quite Freddy Got Fingered awful, but it adds to my lowered expectations.
I don’t see how anyone can ever disassociate Cohen from Borat. The phenomenon has died down, but I am familiar with people who complain about similarities. There is a staggering amount. Add in the mean spirited, empathy free nature of the lead, and I am surprised that this is a studio comedy. People were shocked when Bruno was overtly homoerotic at points, which lead to diminishing returns at the box office. I saw it on opening day, and there were at least four walk outs because of that. I cannot imagine anyone is excited for a scripted version of that.
At least this is what I am getting from trailers and interviews. Every time I see the trailer, I am left with that dirty feeling that I got watching 2 Broke Girls and hoping for something better. They have the relay scene, which has been the high point, but little else. As far as annoying trailers for movies I plan on seeing anyways, this is up there (though it’s no Prometheus, which is visually nice, but an audible hellhole every time I go to a theater). Some may say that it is You Don’t Mess with the Zohan all over again, and it probably is. I just like to think that since Cohen put so much effort into his character that it will be better. I’d like to even compare this to Charlie Chaplin’s the Great Dictator, but I sadly haven’t watched it yet.
While I can blame the marketing for the inevitable bombing, there is one other thing to account for. According to Imdb, the Avengers is the 25th best movie of all time, and it has made gangbusters internationally. I believe that this will be the big thing for weeks to come (hopefully killing Battleship once and for all), and a small comedy about racist dictators will fizzle in comparison. It happened to Did You Hear About the Morgans against Avatar, and it will happen here. I will be surprised if the Dictator even beats Battleship. Of course, the Avengers have one secret weapon: the power to make you want shawarma. That is more than what the Aladeen character is offering.
So, will I slap down $10 and see Cohen in the Dictator? I probably will, despite all of my best intentions. I am just too attached to the possibility that under all of this nonsense is a good movie. I still believe that there is a genius to the madness. I may have not been blown away by the interviews, but at least he’s still doing performance art, even though a script is the poison in the equation. I doubt that this will garner anything near my fondness for Bruno. I doubt anyone will even talk about it as more than another comedy from the Borat guy. It probably is. But like I said, I am a sucker: a very skeptic sucker who may have finally found reason to trust his instincts.
You can read Thom’s blog every Wednesday and hear him on Nerd’s Eye View every Tuesday and Thursday at nevpodcast.com. Send your thoughts to nevpodcast@gmail.com. You can also read Thom’s movie reviews for Cinema Beach at cinemabeach.com.
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